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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. swing — to play on
  3. bear — the animal
  4. ball — a great time
  5. swing — in golf
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bear — the animal
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. chest — of your body
  12. spring — a coil
  13. lean — thin
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. spring — of water
  16. snap — to click
  17. lean — to bend
  18. spring — the season
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. chest — of your body
  21. ball — a dance
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. swing — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com